Just a Slight Recommendation
by crystalix
Summary: Buffy has dedicated her life to saving others, but who would have thought such an unlikely hero to care enough to save her? Part 1 of 1.


Title: Just A Slight Recommendation

Author: crystalix

Rating: PG

Summary: Buffy has dedicated her life to saving others, but who would have thought such an unlikely hero to care enough to save her?

Pairing: Buffy/Angel (with mentions of Spike/Buffy, but not in any significant way)

Timeline: Takes place in BTVS season 5 sometime, the ATS timeline has been totally disregarded.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and co.

Distribution: Please ask first!

Just a Slight Recommendation

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock…

Spike listened to the monotonous ticking of the nearby clock a second at a time, entranced by its steady rhythm. Now, one may assume that this is due to a sunny day or waiting for a treat in a darkened park. But no, no such luck.

Instead Spike was listening to the ticking of the clock because it ever so nicely drowned out the sound of a certain slayer's whining sobs. Okay, so maybe not so whiney, but the poor girl had been drowning on for over an hour now; his ears were near bleeding and his shirt at this rate would be surely ruined in no time. And not to mention his pride, what self-respecting creeper of the night would spend a perfectly bloody night consoling the very person who's tried to nip his head off more than once.

It was rather degrading.

"Buffy, Buffy… Bufffffy," Spike drawled, hoping the blonde could hear him over the wails.

Tearfully she looked up at him, her mossy green eyes red and puffy with tears. Her hair in disarray, her face sunken and pale from lack of sleep; Spike realised just how much the last while had taken its toll on the meagre girl. Another boyfriend had left her, her baby sister wasn't fairing so well, a new big bad had come into town, her friends were all over the place, and now to top it all off her mother looked like she was on her way out. It's a wonder she'd made it this far, really. No wonder Spike had found himself sitting on her deck for the past few weeks, every night awkwardly trying to comfort her in some twisted form of sympathy. He loved her, or at least had some fuzzy feelings here and there. But this was just becoming too much. He hadn't had a life for weeks now, she had come to him day and night in tears because no other bloke had the balls to step up and see how broken up she was. The girl wasn't invincible, after all, was he the only one sees that?

This keeps up she'll be six feet under in a week.

"Look, slayer, your mum will be fine, alright? Just try and calm down—how about you go out and kill something? That always seems to help with every other big bad you've been through, didn't it?"

At his words Buffy (if possible) started wailing harder, reminded of all the things that had gone wrong in her life. So much for comfort.

"Oh bloody hell!" Spike sighed, rolling his eyes.

Quickly having reached his breaking point, the platinum blonde promptly decided he had had enough. He'd been dealing with this girl for far too long now, and one more wail or tear or problem and HE was going to take a short walk into a bright and sunny day.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, he leaned the slayer across the back of couch and shoved a nearby pillow into her arms.

"Here, take this. Cry or whatever it is you need to do-- and for the love of hell don't move! Just… stay inside or something. A marshmallow could take you out for god's sake…" he grumbled and picked up his coat, heading to the door.

Turning back, he pointed a finger at the slayer.

"STAY." He commanded and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

It didn't take long to get to Los Angeles. A stupid idea, no doubt about it; if anything goes wrong it'd be another day before he could get back to Sunnyhell. But that was a chance Spike was more than willing to take—frankly at this point, he couldn't find it in himself to care.

Pushing the throttle of the bike to its max (to whom it belonged he didn't know, nor did he care) he sped to the front door of the familiar offices of Angel Investigations. It wasn't the first time he'd paid his good 'ole sire a visit; and for the love of all things unholy Spike prayed it would be the last.

Damn near kicking the doors in, Spike charged through the front doors and looked around, more out of his mind than he could remember. Across the room a semi-familiar cheerleader and the rest of her groupies turned and froze, their eyes widening in some form of shock; the prick standing in the centre of the madness.

Before anyone could move, Spike was across the room and pounding on the elder vampire, his demon showing through, the rabid blonde kicked Angel through a chair and onto the nearby counter before holding him down by his throat and pounding on him again. It wasn't until the bloke's fanclub finally dragged him away and pushed him back that he stopped the assault.

"YOU BLOODY IDIOT! YOU STUPID, WHINEY, YELLOW-BELLIED COWARD OF A COTTON BALL! I SWEAR I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR SOFT SOULLED--!!"

Spike barely felt the solid fist hit his jaw as his head was whipped to one side, blood immediately staining the (pansy-assed) expensive carpet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cordelia shrieked, the decibel level of her voice made the blonde cringe.

"What am I doing? What the bloody hell is HE doing?" He yelled back, pointing at the sire towering over him.

"You'd better say what you want to say Spike, and fast, I'm in no mood to deal with you tonight." Angel threatened, his eyes glowing amber.

"Not in the mood, NOT IN THE MOOD!!?? You know what I'M not in the mood for Captain Forehead?? I'm not in the mood to sit and listen to YOUR slayer whine and whine and cry for three bloody weeks straight! She doesn't sleep, she doesn't eat, she doesn't slay, all she ever does anymore is CRY! In the morning, after dark, anytime that her self-absorbed FRIENDS aren't around she's THERE! Everywhere always CRYING I mean I was just trying to be a nice guy and THIS is what I get? I don't have time for anything else anymore because I'm too damned busy picking up the slack that YOU felt the need to leave behind!"

Taken aback, Angel was silent for a moment, his demeanour immediately changing to that of concern.

"Crying?" he said sceptically.

Spike got up and let out a sound scream. He vaguely noticed the fang gang back away slightly.

"Yes CRYING! Day in and day out over and over again! Dying mum, insane demonic thing after her, absentee friends—hell Army Boy, official boy next door of Iowa couldn't even handle it! I'm just as ready to flake into a chopper too if I have to listen to it all for one more night!"

Angel's eyes widened at the mentioning of Buffy's military beau. He left her? Joyce was dying? He LEFT her??

Spike rolled his eyes at Angel's silence.

"That's right, just sit there you poof. That'll solve things for me."

"What exactly do you propose he do?" Cordelia screeched once again, Spike swore, one more time… "He's got a life here you Billy Idol wannabee. If Buffy really needed help she'd be right here asking for it and turning his life upside down yet again. Whatever it is I'm sure she can handle it on her own."

Spike growled,

"Oh would you put a plug in it twinkie?"

"Spike, what do you expect me to do?" Angel said, shaking his head, obviously feeling a headache coming on.

"Let me put this to you as clearly as possible… I don't bloody CARE! I don't care if you hug her, or bang her, hell kill her for all I care! But in case you've forgotten mate she's YOUR everlasting love here, not mine, not soldier boy's-- yours."

Taking a deep breath, Spike felt himself relax slightly.

"Look, she's broken mate. I'm not talking depressed or slightly worried she's on overload. Much longer and the girl's going to kill herself and everyone else is too absorbed in their own lives to notice. I'm all she's had for months now and she's just not my responsibility."

Angel remained silent.

"Look, just a slight recommendation? Go see her. Get up off that high horse you put yourself on two years ago and go help the poor girl. Don't leave again, don't use gypsies or big bads or out-of-town problems as an excuse, I really don't think she could take it again. She needs help Angel, and for god's sake I'm a vampire—a soulless one at that. I can't do a thing about any of this, but you can. If you really don't give a damn what happens then fine, just stake me now so I don't have to deal with it. But you and I both know… she's just too important for that."

Angel raised his eyebrow slightly, catching the slight begging tone in his childe's voice. An air of silent understanding passed through the two men; they had one thing in common, and she was currently lying broken in a town that they had both tried to turn their backs on.

Before another word was said, Angel grabbed his coat and steadily headed for the door. Turning and giving Spike a silent thanks, he promptly left and headed back to the town he'd once called home.

Moments later, Spike turned and slowly trailed behind. Ignoring the stolen bike, he waltzed down the dark streets smiling to himself.

The only sound audible was his two feet against the solid pavement.

Click, clock, click, clock..

The End.


End file.
